


Our Little Island

by thesadchicken



Category: Deep Dish Nine - Fandom, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Deep Dish Nine, Deep Dish Nine (Fandom) - Freeform, Fluff and Humor, Multi, Summer, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 10:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5824483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when the whole gang goes on a boat-trip to a far-away island? <br/>Set in the Deep Dish Nine universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Little Island

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta-ed silliness. I wrote it last summer, but I'm only posting it in winter. Ha.  
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> This story is set in Lady Yate-xel's Deep Dish Nine AU, where everyone is Human, Deep Space Nine is a pizza parlour and no one dies. Happy happy happy fluff!

It was a slow day at Deep Dish Nine. Except for the few unfortunate people who worked over the summer and the occasional tourist, everyone was off on vacation – and even those who weren’t scurried home as fast as they could to hide from the heat. Kira was leaning against the counter, fanning herself with a menu, while Ezri was leaning against the wall, fanning herself with her uniform hat. Worf was locked inside the kitchens, claiming it was ‘a warrior’s trial to endure the heat without complaining’. Julian grabbed a fresh soda can and placed it on the only occupied table, where a Vulcan tourist was sitting with his back straight, a pair of big round glasses perched on his nose and a camera hanging from his neck.

The sun was filtering through the glass windows, clinging to the air and crawling on their skins, making the room nearly unbearable. Kira pulled on the collar of her uniform shirt. Their one – and so far only – customer finished his salad, folded his unused napkin and neatly slid it into his pocket. He took one long gulp of soda and stood up, walked slowly towards the counter, paid and even left Julian a small tip on his way out. Ezri watched him leave and it seemed to her that he was moving in slow-motion, even as he crossed the street and faded away into the city.

“Great,” Julian said, tossing the few coins he had earned in the air and catching them again; “I’m going to get a nice cold drink from Quark’s with this.”

He hurried out of the pizza place, and Kira didn’t even have the strength or the will to stop him. They were sweating and bored to tears; so Julian had found a distraction? Good for him. They could all use one. And besides, it wasn’t like they were going to need an extra pair of hands in the next twenty minutes. She shrugged and thought she’d allow him a little break, even though it wasn’t break time yet. However, when a happy, energetic Jadzia Dax pushed the doors open, Kira found she didn’t feel like being as indulgent with her as she had been with Julian.

“Where were you all morning?” she exclaimed as soon as the taller woman came in.

“Well at least someone’s happy to see me,” Jadzia frowned through her smile; “I’ll explain. Where’s Worf?”

“In there,” Ezri replied, gesturing towards the kitchens.

Jadzia strode all the way there and they heard her call out; “Worf, turn off the AC and come out here, I have something to tell you guys.”

A grumpy – if somewhat embarrassed – Klingon immerged from his hiding place, miraculously not perspiring.

“So much for ‘enduring the heat’,” Kira scowled at him.

“I did not know the kitchens were air-conditioned,” Worf half-heartedly protested, uncertain of his own lie.

“Yeah right,” Ezri said, crossing her arms over her chest; “You know what I think? I think you wanted it all to yourself –”

“Guys, listen up!” Jadzia raised her voice as she walked to the center of the room, attracting their attention; “Do you want to know why I wasn’t here all morning?”

“Alright, go ahead,” Kira said, challenging her with a sharp, accusatory look.

Jadzia smiled in satisfaction and clapped her hands once. “Okay. So I was playing Tongo with Quark yesterday night,” she began, ignoring Worf’s grunt of disapproval; “and we were listening to a Ferengi channel on the radio when this program came on, where you had to answer questions and win money. I knew practically all the answers and I kinda bragged about it in front of Quark’s friends. So they pressed me to call the channel and play –which I did, and guess what? I won!”

Julian walked back in at that moment, a disappointed look on his face.

“Quark’s is closed. There’s a sign on the door saying he’s on vacation or something,” he paused when he saw Jadzia, stared at the others and then back outside; “err, am I in trouble?”

“If you consider a boat trip to a far-away island trouble, then yes, you are,” the older Dax grinned.

The cacophony of mingling voices that followed only made Jadzia look even more delighted. “Wait what?” Kira asked, disbelieving. “A far-away island!” Ezri exclaimed dreamingly. “A boat trip,” Worf said indifferently. “When do we leave?” Julian questioned impatiently.

“Wait a second,” Kira yelled over the other voices; “does Sisko know about this?”

“Ben was the first to agree on this,” Jadzia beamed at them; “so consider yourselves officially on vacation for the whole weekend. Don’t everybody thank me at once.”

“So we’re all going?” Ezri asked excitedly.

“Well, I spent all the money I won on places for the boat trip –which got me ten tickets. So it’s going to be us plus Quark and… anyone else who wants to tag along.”

~

“It’s a very gracious offer, my dear, but you know I’m going to decline.”

“Why?” Julian whined, following Garak into the kitchen and watching as he reached for two wine glasses and a bottle of kanar; “Are you afraid? You can’t swim, is that it?”

“Absolutely not,” Garak answered, looking rather affronted by the idea.

“Then why?” Julian insisted.

“If you must know, I don’t feel comfortable around your friends. They’re not exactly fond of me either.”

“Oh,” Julian scratched the back of his neck; “um…”

He couldn’t exactly lie – Garak wasn’t stupid, he knew he wasn’t appreciated and nothing Julian could say would make him change his mind. But perhaps if he could make him look at the brighter side of things?

“Jadzia likes you,” he tried.

“Miss Dax tolerates me, it’s different,” Garak replied, sitting down at the table and pouring himself a glass of wine; “Kanar?” he asked, only to have Julian shake his head and wave the offer away.

“What about Ezri?” the younger man suggested, dragging a chair back on the spotless kitchen floor with a screeching sound that made Garak wince.

 “Yes, well,” he said, taking a sip of wine.

_Ah ha, I’m winning_ , Julian thought. Garak was already wavering, he could sense it. _Now all I have to do is give him a valuable enough motive to leave his peaceful little apartment –that way he can convince himself it’s simply inevitable_. He tried not to smirk as he lowered his eyelids and put on the most innocent expression in his repertoire.

“Besides, I’m moving to Andor next semester. But I understand if you can’t spend a little time with me, I mean you probably have important business to attend to. I wouldn’t want to be a nuisance.”

“That’s hardly fair,” Garak frowned, putting down his glass.

“It’s true though,” Julian sighed dramatically.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, listening to the regular ticks of the kitchen clock. Garak clicked his tongue. “Alright, I’ll go,” he said, shaking his head.

“I knew you would!” Julian beamed, leaning across the table and placing a small peck on Garak’s lips; “Don’t forget to pack sunscreen,” he added as he got up and rushed towards the exit.

“Don’t slam the –” Garak started, cringing when the door banged shut behind his boyfriend; “…door.”

~

Benjamin Sisko pushed the door to his apartment open and strode in, humming a jazzy tune. He slipped out of his shoes and walked into the living room, where his son was sprawled across the couch with his computer resting on his stomach.

“Jake-o,” he called, smiling as he knelt down and placed a kiss on Jake’s temple; “writing?”

“Yeah,” the boy replied, frowning at his computer screen; “it’s the sci-fi comic book I’m working on with Ziyal.”

“Ah,” Sisko smiled, walking towards the window and opening it; “good luck then. You’ve been working on it for over two weeks.”

“Mm-hm,” Jake nodded, already drifting away into his world of space stations and galactic wars.

Benjamin poured himself a glass of water and downed it quickly. “Jadzia got us tickets for a boat trip to a far-away island,” he announced excitedly; “Sounds interesting to you?” he added, when no reaction came from the slumping teenager.

“Oh,” Jake said, turning his head away from the screen to look at his father guiltily; “Yeah, listen dad, I’m really sorry but I have plans this weekend. Nog’s friend Alexander is throwing a party and I promised… ”

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay,” Sisko assured him, shrugging; “I just don’t understand why I still keep expecting you to leap with joy at the idea of spending a weekend with your old man.”

“It’s not that, dad, it’s just… you know,” Jake stammered apologetically.

“I know, I know,” Ben nodded, smiling kindly.

“But you can always call Kasidy, see if she’s interested?” Jake counteroffered.

~

Odo pulled on the front of his khaki cargo shorts, feeling mildly uncomfortable out of his uniform. He was waiting in front of his house when he saw the Deep Dish Nine minivan –also known as _the Defiant-_ approaching. It stopped in front of him, and a cheerful Jadzia Dax opened the driver’s window. “Morning, Odo,” she smiled at him.

“Good morning, Dax,” he bowed, picking up his backpack.

The back left door opened and he was greeted by the sight of Julian Bashir and Elim Garak sitting next to each other with their bags on their laps. In front of them sat Kira, Ezri and a sleepy Worf. Next to the driver’s seat Benjamin Sisko and Kasidy Yates were trying to share the small space between them and the door. Odo was absolutely certain that was illegal, but he said nothing. He was on vacation, after all.

“Good morning everyone,” he nodded towards them, as he ducked into the back seat; “Doctor, Mr. Garak,” he greeted his fellow passengers.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?” Julian said, exasperated; “I’m not a doctor! Not yet.”

“Where’s Mr. O’Brien?” Odo asked, ignoring his friend’s complaints.

“Miles couldn’t make it, so I brought Garak instead,” Julian grinned, lifting his and his partner’s entwined hands.

“How charming,” the Cardassian commented sarcastically.

“Guys, you better make room back there for Quark,” Jadzia called out.

Odo suddenly looked slightly panicked and clearly not amused. “Why didn’t anyone tell me Quark was coming?”

Kira turned around and gave him an amused look. “Come on, Odo, if it weren’t for him we wouldn’t be going,” she reasoned.

“Are _you_ defending _Quark_?”

“I’m not defending anyone, I just-”

“Good morning, losers,” Quark interrupted them, climbing into the car and squeezing himself a place beside Odo. He was wearing bright orange shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, and carried three different bags that he tossed between his feet and over his head as soon as he sat down; “Ready for some sunshine?”

~

The boat was pleasantly rocking between the waves. _Or at least pleasant enough for the rest of them_ , Ezri thought miserably, as she held her stomach and leaned back against the deck. Seasick. She _had_ to be seasick. While the others were laughing, taking pictures and pointing out how beautiful the water looked, she was stuck at the end of the boat, holding her guts together with a lot of luck and strength of will. She heard a loud thump and turned to see a very pale Quark clinging to the wooden deck and peering down at the water.

“Are you okay?” Ezri asked weakly.

“What do you think?” he mumbled, clenching his fists and leaning overboard to empty the remains of his breakfast into the sea. Ezri winced and turned away, squeezing her eyes closed. _Breathe in, breathe out_.

“Are we there yet?” she yelled out impatiently to no one in particular.

“Almost,” her sister’s voice replied, and a comforting hand landed on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and attempted to smile up at Jadzia, who sat down beside her and pulled her head to rest against her shoulder; “close your eyes and picture yourself on the beach, where it’s warm and sandy and absolutely still. No waves, no shaking or wobbling or –oh my gosh you have to see this!”

Ezri reluctantly opened her eyes and let herself be pulled up by an enthusiastic Jadzia and dragged to the front of the boat, where everyone seemed to be absorbed by the azure skyline. For the first few seconds she struggled to even stand on her unsteady feet, but her big sister’s arm was locked beneath her shoulders and holding her up.

“Look,” Jadzia said, pointing out towards the horizon. Ezri squinted, trying to make out whatever was so fascinating, and then she saw it: the outlines of the island, with palm trees silhouetted against the bright sky and a flock of seagulls twirling over it in wild frenzies.

“Wow,” Ezri gasped, taking a few steps forward. The dizziness had gone away, although she was still feeling a little queasy. Julian was standing in front of her, taking pictures with his phone, so she clung to his shoulders and pushed herself up on her tip-toes to take a better look.

“You think there are any hidden treasures over there?” the young man smiled at her.

“I’m going to explore and find out,” she answered eagerly, never taking her eyes off the yellow piece of land. It looked like it was floating over the sea just as their boat was; the vision was oddly hypnotic.

She didn’t notice them stopping nor did she see the small yellow and blue safety boats being lowered into the water, but she did feel the rough pat on her back and Captain Martok’s gruff voice cheerfully asking everyone to “jump out”.

“What do you mean, ‘jump out’?” Quark whined miserably from the back.

“The water is not this deep near the shore, it would wreck the ship to go any further,” Martok stated matter-of-factly, looking at the Ferengi as if he were stupid – which, in Martok’s opinion at least, he actually was – then added, turning towards the rest of them; “I’m sorry, but I can’t take her any closer. You’re all going to have to paddle to the island.” He seemed mildly amused by the prospect, which only made Worf huff and Sisko grin.

“Well then,” Benjamin said, grabbing the two pairs of paddles lying on the deck; “we better get to it if we want to be there before lunch time.” He walked over to the edge of the deck and stared down at the little boats waiting in the clear, calm water. “Alright, I’m taking the blue boat. The Daxes come with me,” he glanced over at the group and seemed to be considering something for a second; “so does Odo. Kira, you stick to Kasidy and Julian. Mr Garak comes with us, and Worf… you stay with them. Fair play.”

“Fair play?” Kasidy frowned.

“Last team there is the other team’s cabana boy,” he grinned, raising his eyebrows at her.

“What about me?” Quark protested, wobbling towards them dizzily, clutching his bags.

“You can go with Kira,” Odo suggested, nodding towards the redhead and smiling at her tauntingly; “after all, she’s the one who so heroically defended you earlier.”

Kira glared at him, mimicking a throat slitting gesture. Quark walked towards the yellow boat without a protest and Odo looked entirely too pleased with himself as he jumped into the other one. They began filling the small boats –it took Worf two tries, the first one being a miscalculated leap that almost sent them all overboard- and soon everyone was in place. Benjamin grabbed a paddle and tossed the second one at Jadzia.

“Ready?” he yelled over to the other boat, where Kira was grasping her paddle, looking positively fierce, and Worf was already trying a few quick blows in the air. Julian, on the other hand, was waving joyously at a half-smiling Garak.

“You bet,” Kira growled. She was determined to win this race, and she wasn’t going to let any love-sick young men interfere with their victory; “Julian, sit your ass down. Quark, be still and shut up. Worf, paddle like hell.”

“We will destroy them,” Worf nodded.

“One,” Kasidy counted; “Two. Three: GO!”

A loud whoosh accompanied the turmoil of movement and splashing as the two teams battled their way to the island. Jadzia had her lips pursed and her brows furrowed, concentrated on the task at hand –at least for a few seconds; the rest of the time was spent sticking her tongue out at Worf. Ben was pushing and pulling and moving his arms at a steady pace, grunting at each blow of the paddle to the water. Odo placed himself at the end of the small boat and instructed Garak to sit at the other extremity in order to keep their balance. Ezri was grinning wildly, calling out to the others in a sing-song tone of voice: “Is that all you got? We’re so far ahead of you I can barely see you guys!”

That earned her a loud growl from Worf and a significant increase of pace as Kira began moving frantically, pounding the water with her paddle. Julian laughed. “Don’t underestimate the wrath of our mighty warriors!”

Quark mumbled something about underestimating the amount of splashing and thrashing he could take before throwing up, but the comment was ignored in favor of another rather piquant one from Garak – which was, unsurprisingly, directed towards Julian.

“I, for one, am counting on winning, and I hope you’re prepared to be my cabana boy. I have _very_ specific needs.”

A blush painted the younger man’s brown cheeks and a sparkle lit his eyes. “Do you?” he replied languidly; “well, I think I just might enjoy loosing.”

“I’ll make sure you do,” Garak grinned, raising one dark eyebrow.

And that’s when Quark threw up, bending overboard a moment too late and ending up splashing the inside of the boat. The next few minutes were mad chaos: Worf roared in disgust and threw his hands in the air, letting go of the paddle and sending it flying into the sea. Kira yelled at him not to stop, then turned to Julian –who was bent over with laughter – and proceeded to threaten him with her own paddle. Kasidy buried her face in her palm.

They eventually reached the shore, a minute or two after Benjamin’s team, with Julian and Kasidy paddling miserably while Kira and Worf mumbled angrily at each other. Quark leaped out of the boat before they even stopped, throwing his bags onto the sand and crouching down to kiss the land. Benjamin and Jadzia were waiting for them, looking proud and positively smug.

“Not a word,” Kasidy warned her partner as she got off the yellow boat, and he held his hands up in response, smiling teasingly.

~

Jadzia plunged into the cerulean blue water and wiggled her hair free of its bounds. It felt like letting go of all of her worries. She smiled underwater and opened her eyes. The sea was an endlessness of turquoise and white, and although her vision was blurry she could make out a few colorful fish letting themselves sway at the rhyme of the waves. She emerged from the water with a happy sigh, brushing her hair out of her eyes. _Perfect_ , she thought. _This is perfect_.

“Jadzia!”

She turned around and beamed at Worf, who was waving a racket at her from the shore. “I challenge you to a game of beach ball,” he yelled.

She started swimming back towards him, a defiant smirk on his lips. “You really want to get beaten at two different games in the same day, do you?”

He huffed, an almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“What are the stakes this time?” she asked, walking out of the water and grabbing another racket from where it was thrown on the sand, at Worf’s feet.

“If you lose, you will stop teasing me for the rest of the day,” he answered, half-smiling, half-serious.

“And if I win?”

He smiled in earnest. “That is unlikely.”

“We’ll see.”

~

Odo stretched his tired limbs and sighed happily. He was lounging on the sand, dark sunglasses perched on the top of his nose and a newspaper abandoned on his stomach in favor of a nice nap. No crazy outlaw Jem’Hadar bikers, no clashes between Dominion pizza and Deep Dish Nine, no extremist Bajoran religious leaders, and especially no illegal dealings at Quark’s. He had no idea being on vacation could feel so liberating. He loved his job, but he was beginning to think he loved being lazy under the summer sun even more… until it started raining sand on him. He spat and covered his face, hoping it would go away. When it didn’t, he was forced to look up: and there it was, the source of all his troubles –Quark, of course. How did he let himself believe he could be free of him? It was the man’s personal duty to make sure Odo’s day was somehow ruined. He was waving his towel just a few inches over the ground, causing the sand to fly in every direction –most noticeably Odo’s.

“Stop that!” he yelled.

“What?” Quark protested, turning towards him.

“Stop waving that towel!”

“I’m just trying to lay it down on the sand so I can relax a bit. Is that illegal?” the bald man sneered ironically.

Odo huffed. “It should be,” he turned to the side, his back to Quark’s irritating presence; “Besides, why can’t you go sit elsewhere?”

“This is the best spot,” Quark replied matter-of-factly.

Odo decided the best thing to do was to ignore him. How much harm could he cause if he was just sitting there? So they lay under the sun in silence for ten lazy minutes and Odo was starting to feel relaxed again when a handful of wet sand hit him on the arm. He started but kept his eyes closed –he would not give the Ferengi the satisfaction of knowing his childish games annoyed him. He shifted onto his back just in time to receive another smudge of mud, right in the middle of the chest.

“Quark,” he warned.

“What?” the other replied, irritated, before pushing a little yelp of surprise; “Hey! What was that for?”

“What was what for?” Odo asked, finally opening his eyes and positioning himself on his elbows to throw a long, accusatory look at Quark.

That’s when they heard the sound of two laughing voices. They turned around, lowering their sunglasses in the same slow movement: behind them, Ezri and Kira were giggling like children, and in Kira’s left hand was another ball of wet sand, ready to be tossed at its unfortunate victim. Odo and Quark stared at them in disbelief for a moment or two, which only sent the two women into another fit of laughter before they scattered away like little girls.

“I hope you’re going to get them for that,” Quark said.

“Of course I am,” Odo replied.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.”

~

Benjamin squeezed Kasidy’s hand and pulled her out of the water. They had laughed and giggled and splashed around all day and Benjamin felt like a proper teenager, but he couldn’t care less. He was happy and free and in love, and he had every intention of making the most of their vacation. Now that the sun was setting and the air was getting slightly chilly, he longed for good food and maybe even a cozy fire in a place far from unwelcome eyes, where he and Kasidy could snuggle close and keep each other warm. He scanned the beach for a romantic hideout and grinned widely when he saw just the place: a small opening in a rock formation – not really a cave, but large enough to fit them both. And it was isolated, although facing the beach. Benjamin bet they would be able to hear the wind whistling through the rocks and the waves whispering as they hugged the shore.

“Follow me,” he told a smiling Kasidy, and pulled her towards his newfound secret place, barely taking his eyes off of hers. They were loving and bright and unmistakably longing. It sent shivers down Benjamin’s spine and made his heart light with a fiery blaze of passion; in the heat of the moment he reached out and pulled Kasidy close, then slid an arm under her neck and the other beneath her knees and picked her up from the sand.

“Put me down, Ben!” she laughed, wiggling her feet frantically but holding onto her lover’s shoulders with a yearning that gave away her desire.

Benjamin knelt in and kissed her gently, thinking of all the ways he’d like to kiss her tonight. Her lips were soft and warm and salty, her skin burning against his chest. Later on, when he would remember this moment, he’d remember the carefreeness of it, he’d remember that all his being was directed towards his and Kasidy’s sweet frolics and that Jennifer was with him as ever, but this time she was a detached presence, far from his lovesick thoughts. And the pain never once prodded their perfect, perfect happiness.

That is, until their perfect happiness hit a cold hard wall that took the form of two bodies intertwined, dark skin against pale, brown hands mingling in black hair and a name whispered over and over again.

Benjamin turned on his heels and _ran_ ; sprinting like his life depended on it. Kasidy had been spared the shiver-inducing sight, but she could easily guess what kind of misfortune her partner had left behind them – and frankly, she didn’t care to know more.

So they spent the evening with a sunburnt Quark, an uncharacteristically cheerful Odo, a joke-telling Jadzia, a sleepy Worf and a smiling Kira, all of them gathered around Ezri and her guitar. _Which_ , Benjamin thought as he sang along happily, _isn’t exactly how we were planning to finish the day but come to think of it, I wouldn’t have it any other way_.

~

On a recluse part of the island, under a small opening in a rock formation facing the sea, Julian Bashir giggled and dug his nose into his lover’s dark hair. The sun hung low near the horizon, bathing their little haven in warm reddish light. Garak smelled of salt and sand and summer days, and Julian felt enamored of him far beyond redemption.

“Mmmh,” he sighed contentedly; “I could stay here forever.”

He felt Garak’s deep breaths against his chest, and then a pale hand slithered up his back and rested at the base of his neck. Clever fingers pulled his head gently backwards and an eager mouth covered his. Julian moaned into the kiss as he deepened it, and Garak slid on top of him, wrapping himself around the younger man’s long-limbed body.

“Then we’ll stay,” he whispered languidly into Julian’s ear, before capturing sensitive brown skin between his lips and sucking lightly.

Julian wandered at how easily Garak could sometimes lose himself. How he could let himself fall into the arms of a young medical student and forget – forget what, exactly? Julian had no idea, but he knew that there was something irrefutably different about the way Garak smiled when they were alone; not the polite, guarded, secretive grin he usually wore when addressing others, but a soft and open smile that said ‘I am safe’. _Safe from what?_ Julian asked himself, and deep down he thought he knew the answer, but wasn’t quite ready to believe it yet. For the time being they were together, and Garak felt _safe_ , and Julian felt absolutely wonderful and everything was perfect. And Garak had just decided they’d stay on the beach forever, their bodies locked in a tender embrace, their breaths mingling, their happiness complete, and for the life of him Julian couldn’t guess if he was joking or not.


End file.
